Will I be ok lifting four days a week?

[dusty]

I just started weightlifting (for the first time in my life) Monday through Thursday. I'm doing different muscle groups each day of course. I'm also running about every day of the week. So other than being really sore all the time, am I doing anything detrimental to my health?

 

[TheRookie]

So long as you are using good form on your lifts, no.

 

[dusty]

The friend I'm lifting with used to be a trainer, so he's making sure I do the form right.

 

[DNW]

Four days are too much, IMHO. I like to have one rest day in between. If you do four day, then make sure you don't work out upper body two days in a row (stick a leg or cardio day in between).

 

[Saucemaster]

Four days a week is overtraining territory for many of us. It depends on how you're built. I must be one of the hardgainingest hardgainers around--if I lift more than two days a week, I won't get any progression at all (and even then, despite eating tons and tons of food, I only progress very slowly). I need a good two or three days rest between workouts, with muscle groups hit heavily no more than once a week, or I stagnate. Your mileage may vary, of course; I know guys who can lift three or four times a week and still see progress.

As for hurting yourself, I'm with TheRookie. Just use good form. It's not so much that four times a week is dangerous, it's that it may (again, depending on your personal genetic capability, diet, rest, etc) be overtraining and cause you to progress more slowly, or not at all.

 

[drizzt3117]

I don't think lifting four days a week is excessive but I would typically have some rest days in between, lifting four days in a row has the potential of some serious fatigue. Are you doing a different routine each day, or repeating some after the first two days?

I train four days a week, but space it out, usually go like tues, thurs, sat, sun or so.

 

[dusty]

I've only done two days so far (I started Wednesday), but I assume I'm going to be doing a different thing each day. I'm not too sure though; my friend is putting together the schedule for me. We did triceps and chest on Tuesday and legs and abs on Thursday.

We were trying to make a schedule where I would get all the muscle groups done plus cardio with the stipulation that I have Fri/Sat/Sun free. I go home (from college) on the weekends sometimes, and I don't have access to a gym there. I don't go home all that frequently though, so maybe we should do some restructuring to include some off-days.

About overtraining (?), is there a way to know if I'm overdoing it? I have zero experience with this stuff.

 

[drizzt3117]

Well you're likely going to be tired for the first couple of weeks no matter if you are fatigued or not, so its going to be hard to tell. After that though, you should be able to tell if you're not getting enough rest to recover, it will just seem hard for you to lift the same weight or try to build up.

 

[dusty]

Ah, thanks. This is a side issue, but does the pain/stiffness get better the more you lift? My arms are killing me from two days ago. Is there a pain reliever I can take safely as often as I need it?

 

[drizzt3117]

Umm, you can try taking a regular anti-inflammatory like Advil but I wouldn't advise taking it too regularly. A hot tub or something of that sort might help in terms of being soothing but you'll notice the pain getting a lot less as your muscles get used to it. You're just making microtears in the muscle tissue and it will grow back stronger to put it very simplisticly.

 

[Saucemaster]

Originally Posted by dusty

About overtraining (?), is there a way to know if I'm overdoing it? I have zero experience with this stuff.

Just keep track of your progress with the weights--you should be seeing steady (if small) progress each week, either in reps or in poundage. If you aren't, it could be a number of things (you might not be eating enough, you might not be getting enough rest, your training program might not be challenging enough, etc), but one of the things it might be is overtraining, i.e. you're not giving yourself enough time to recover from the exercise and build back a little stronger. It sounds like you might be new to lifting, or you've taken a break for a while? If so, I wouldn't worry about overtraining. You can usually make great gains when you first start (or re-start) a training program. Just keep it in mind if, a few months from now, you seem to have hit a plateau.

 

[mr_economy]

Originally Posted by dusty

Ah, thanks. This is a side issue, but does the pain/stiffness get better the more you lift? My arms are killing me from two days ago. Is there a pain reliever I can take safely as often as I need it?

Embrace the pain. Even though it is not really true that you have to feel pain to get any gain, being sore the next day or two always makes me feel good in knowing I kicked my own rear when I lifted.

As far as overtraining, as long as there's at least a day of rest in between working the same body part you should be fine. Muscles do their repair/growing when they're at rest. If you keep tearing them all the time, they never get the chance to do that.

 

[DNW]

When you've reached a plateau, consider changing the exercises for the same muscle group. Variety is the spice of life, and it's the same for working out.

 

[javyn]

The pain does get better. It won't last as long, and you'll even come to enjoy it.

 

[dusty]

Originally Posted by mr_economy

Embrace the pain. Even though it is not really true that you have to feel pain to get any gain, being sore the next day or two always makes me feel good in knowing I kicked my own rear when I lifted.

Yeah that feeling was cool for the first 15 minutes after I woke up, but then I actually had to do stuff.

Thanks for the help though guys.